1 of 9

Biological Material at the Microscopic Level

2 of 9

Whole Mount – Elodea Leaf

Fresh water aquatic plant, native to North America. Used commonly in aquariums and can become invasive in NZ lakes

3 of 9

Whole Mount – Elodea Leaf

Specialised organelles to identify and describe

Cell wall
Chloroplasts

Also identify and label

Cell membrane
Cytoplasm
Vacuole
Nucleus (if seen – not likely)

Structure and function

4 of 9

Drawing Tip

Remember every individual plant cell you draw has its own cell wall and cell membrane – so take care not to draw cells above, below to the side with shared walls and membranes

5 of 9

Example of what you could expand on for cell wall

Unlike animal cells, plant cells have cell walls

Gives structure, strength and support

Helps plants maintain leaf/stem/root shape etc

Not as permeable as the cell membrane, filters molecules that pass in and out of the cell

Prevents over expansion, allowing water turgor to assist with movement etc

6 of 9

Example of what you could expand on for Chloroplasts

Structure of chloroplasts (flattened/thylakoid stacks to increase Surface area)

Elodea cells have more chloroplasts near the edge….. Why? Why does this make Elodea successful even when underwater?

Eg: site of photosynthesis / what is needed for this / what could slow the rate of reaction or inhibit completely (THINK ABOUT SA:V – diffusion)

These chloroplasts contain chlorophyll a green pigment that absorbs sunlight

The suns energy is needed to convert carbon dioxide and water into chemical energy (glucose) for the plant to use for cellular processes (to fuel the chemical reactions in the cells)